He had, too, a fine historical imagination, and could breathe life and passion into the dead events of the past.
Mr.Ticknor speaks of the Plymouth oration as impressing him as a series of eloquent fragments.

The impression was perfectly correct.

Mr.Webster touched on the historical event, on the character of the Pilgrims, on the growth and future of the country, on liberty and constitutional principles, on education, and on human slavery.

This was entirely proper to such an address.

The difficulty lay in doing it well, and Mr.Webster did it as perfectly as it ever has been done.